12/10-12/16

Advent Week 2 Devotionals: Preparing for the Lord

The beginning of The Gospel According to Mark includes quotes from the prophets Malachi and Isaiah. God Almighty shared this through the prophet Malachi about four hundred years before John the Baptist’s ministry began, “I will send my messenger, who will prepare the way before me. Then suddenly the Lord you are seeking will come to his temple” (Malachi 3:1 NIV). Mark wants those who hear and read the gospel message about Jesus the Christ to know that John the baptizer was the messenger God sent to prepare the way for the arrival of the Lord. To prepare people for the coming of the Lord, John preached about “baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins” out in the wilderness along the Jordan River (Mark 1:4 NIV). He invited those who came to hear him to respond by changing their thoughts and behaviors so that they could set their minds on the Lord, and then receive forgiveness through baptism. Jews flocked to him from Jerusalem and Judea. Mark also wants us to know that John’s messages included this about Jesus, “After me comes one more powerful than I, the straps of whose sandals I am not worthy to stoop down and untie. I baptize you with water, but he will baptize you with the Holy Spirit” (Mark 1:7-8 NIV). John was preparing people for the arrival of the King of kings and the Lord of lords. Are you prepared to welcome Jesus the Christ this Christmas? What do you need to do, or stop doing, to get ready? Repent? Ask for forgiveness? Offer forgiveness to yourself or others? Get baptized? Help other people to see the glory of the Lord (Isaiah 40:5)? How will you help others during this season to be prepared to respond to Jesus the Messiah?

 

One of the ways for us to repent daily and live in the love from God through Christ is by spending time with Jesus each day. This Advent season, during weekly worship services and as part of this Living Faith Devotional, you are invited to use your time of waiting, preparing, and celebrating Jesus’ arrival to focus your heart and mind on the source of hope, love, joy and peace. This daily devotional for the second week of the season is designed to help us focus on “Preparing for the Lord.” The format is designed for you to use as much or little as you have time to use each day. Below is a guide for the weekly and daily use of this Advent devotional:

 

Each Day

• Read the brief hymn, confession, or message about Jesus from the New Testament verses

• Spend a few minutes letting the message about Jesus roll around in your mind as you quietly wait in the presence of the Lord
• Read The Bible verses for the day
• Answer the question(s) using a journal or notebook, or simply think about your responses

• Listen to an Advent Hymn or Song
• Pray using the written prayer and/or your own
• Live in Response to Jesus

 

Week #2 New Testament Hymn of the Earliest Christians:

To set your heart and mind on “Preparing for the Lord” this week, each day read the verses below to begin your time set apart to be with, and encounter, the living God revealed in and through Jesus:

Adopt the attitude that was in Christ Jesus:

Though he was in the form of God,

he did not consider being equal with God something to exploit.

But he emptied himself

by taking the form of a slave

and by becoming like human beings.

When he found himself in the form of a human,

he humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death,

even death on a cross.

Therefore, God highly honored him

and gave him a name above all names,

so that at the name of Jesus

everyone in heaven, on earth, and under the earth

might bow and every tongue confess

that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.

– Philippians 2:5-11 CEB

 

Silence & Solitude:

You are encouraged to spend a few minutes quietly alone with God after reading the verses from Philippians. You may find it helpful to sit, kneel, lay down, or walk as the message about Jesus rolls around in your heart and mind.

 

READ the Daily Bible Verses:

Sunday – Isaiah 40:1-5

Monday – Malachi 2:17-3:5

Tuesday – John 1:1-9

Wednesday – John 1:15-28

Thursday – Luke 3:1-18

Friday – Luke 14:25-35

Saturday – Psalm 29 (The Sabbath theme for today is “worship.”)

 

Daily Questions:

What do these Bible verses reveal about God or Jesus?

What do these verses reveal about preparing for the Lord?

How should I respond to God’s message from scripture today?

Who needs to hear the Christmas story today, this week, or later this season?

How am I going to share it with them?

 

*At the end of the day ask yourself the following questions:

How did I experience God’s love through the people in my life today?

How did I express love for God and others using my words and actions today?

 

Listen to a Hymn:

You are encouraged to listen to the hymn for this week at least on a few days either using the links below for the YouTube videos or using versions that are familiar to you that you have available:

“Hark! the Herald Angels Sing”

Amy Grant’s version

 

Math Maher’s (Christmas with the Chosen) version

 

Pray:

You are invited to conclude your devotional time using this prayer, your own prayer, or a combination of both:

Jesus, my Lord and my King,

I want to be prepared for you and whatever you have for me for today

and throughout this season.

Let your Spirit guide me to do what you would have me do,

or to stop doing whatever you would have me stop doing.

Let your light illumine me so that I may live the life you intended for me.

Heal the parts of me that need your healing touch.

Heal our broken world so that we may be made whole again.

You humbly set aside your glory to love us as we are.

Your birth in Bethlehem and death in Jerusalem means

that we no longer have to die.

Thank you for what you have done for us!

When our time comes, raise us from the earth,

You, our source of second birth.

I join with the angels to sing glory to the King of kings!

In you there is love, humility, forgiveness, and compassion.

Help me, and all believers, to love as you have loved us.

Help me, and my sister and brothers in Christ, to have a humble attitude

with a willingness to serve others as you served.

Remind me, and all of the saints, that we are forgiven,

and we must repeatedly forgive others.

Send me, and all of your followers, to go to those who are hurting

and offer them the comfort we have received.

In your name, the name above every name, I pray. Amen.

 

*If you do not have a Bible, consider downloading the YouVersion Bible App for free from the Apple App Store or Google Play for your smartphone or tablet. You can also use www.BibleGateway.com to look up and read various translations of Bible verses online.